The new fireside chat: Trump is revolutionizing the Bully Pulpit

Throughout the primaries, Dr. Ben Carson harped on the use of the “Bully Pulpit” and how he’d address the nation directly. But in an evolving age, the face of that pulpit has changed. While Carson and others were talking about speaking directly to the people, Trump was doing it.

People mocked Trump over his obsession with Twitter, but social media is the bully pulpit of 2017.

Trump bypassed the media, and talked directly to the people. They can see exactly what he says before the media filter is applied.

Politics is about people, and getting your message to them. It’s about making them believe in you, and get on board with your agenda. That’s what the bully pulpit offers, and that’s exactly what Trump did.

Social media gives the people direct access to politicians. And, in reverse, it gives politicians direct access to the people.

Over the past few decades, there’s been a war of marketing, not ideas. In this war of perception, the left has been destroying the right. The left has conveyed their message to the people. The right talked over their head.

But Trump flipped the script. He is the master of marketing. He talks to people, not at them.

He reshaped the way that Americans view the presidency. He is raw, visceral, and accessible.

As the landscape changes, we see the many families that were hurt, abandoned, and forgotten. They finally feel like someone gets them. Someone is standing up for that little guy. That’s the power of this new bully pulpit. That’s the power of social media.

One only needs to look at who showed up to Pruitt’s confirmation hearing to see what’s happening. Coal miners took the day off work to come down to DC and support him. These are not college kids who are ditching class, but the working class.

They’re coming and getting involved in Government because it’s the first time they feel like they make a difference. Social media has connected them to a political candidate. It’s tied the bonds between them.

History will tell of the Trump Revolution in politics, how social media connected him with people bringing conservative ideals to the mainstream. It’s a time when the right had someone to market for them, and roll out the conservative wish list. For the first time, Rand Paul’s audit-the-fed bill has mainstream support. Not because of an intellectual battle, but because of marketing genius.

After seeing Trump’s cabinet appointments, it doesn’t take much to see a future with less government interference. For the first time since Reagan, we have a president who understands that he needs to be the PR guy, and let his cabinet do their jobs.

The conservative movement may have steam right now, but Conservatives must remember the lessons that Trump taught them. Winning an argument in the back room of a smoke-filled cigar bar does not win the hearts of the people. They don’t want to hear about poor GDP growth. They want to hear about how it affects their lives.